Major Clash Occurs in Armavir Prison; Department Head Dismissed

The newspaper ‘Hraparak’ reports that a major clash occurred last week in the Armavir Penal Institution, which escalated into a brawl. As a result, the head of the operational department of the penitentiary service, Edik Andreyan, was dismissed.

The incident began when a prison operative requested a bag of prayer beads from one of the inmates on behalf of Andreyan. These prayer beads are sold at considerably high prices by inmates for their handiwork. Although Andreyan’s demand was met, the news reached the head of the Penitentiary Service, Ambakum Grigoryan, who summoned the operative first. The operative confirmed that he acted on the head’s orders, and then Andreyan was also called in and instructed to write a resignation letter.

A dispute among operatives over the prayer beads led to the brawl. In the aftermath, the press service of the Penitentiary Service confirmed that Edik Andreyan was dismissed on June 18, citing ‘transition to retirement after long-term service’ as the reason. When asked about the conflict, the Penitentiary Service provided the same response, stating that the head was dismissed due to age reasons. Interestingly, he is only 45 years old, was appointed to this position in late January 2024, and it is rather strange that he is retiring after just four months.

In fact, despite Nikol Pashinyan's assurances that prisons have been reformed, the same neglect prevails there.